Friday Night Fun at the Dairy-Ette!

So...there's this total hole in the wall place in Dallas across from Bishop Lynch called the Dairy-Ette.
Apparently AALLLL the neighbor gals have been there except me.
It's kind of like Kellers...but it has a small diner too.

They make their own Root Beer! I LOVE ROOT BEER!




Yes, people drive up, & then sit out in their own chairs & meet up at the Dairy-Ette. The place has been here for twenty-some-odd years....

Gage brought a few dinosaurs...they ate "Dinosaur Food", also known as Sweet-n-Low.




And....we drank LOTS of Root Beer in big frosty mugs!


It was a ton of fun. Word to the wise if you choose to check out the Dairy-Ette: (1) one order of fries will be enough for 2 people, or 2 people & a toddler. There's no need to order 3 orders of fries just because 3 people will be eating... (2) The Dairy-Ette is cash only. And if you end up not having enough cash---there's an ATM across the street at the 7-11.
:)

....cash only......I hardly EVER have cash anymore....

8/27: Sol's with the Mom Scouts...& other stuff!

So, our little neighborhood group of moms/friends is now going to be officially named, "The Mom Scouts".

Leslie will be the "Activity Director" & "Secretary". She's always good at making plans for us, researching stuff for us, etc.

Tera will be the "Recruitment Chair" and "Community Liasian" because without her, we wouldn't have all come together.

Pam is the "Creativity Director" and "Honorary Mom" because according to Gage, "she didn't get a baby" and she's "snuggly" like a Mom. [to note, Mark & Pam aren't ready for kids yet...]

Stephanie will be the "Member at Large".

And, I only think it's fitting that I get to be the President, because our whole group wouldn't have started if (1) One day I didn't just cross the street & go ask Tera to do something with me since we were both moms & bored at home, and even though we didn't know each other very well I just knew that we'd be friends, and (2) Hello! I just totally named us.

.......okay, yes, I'm a total dork. Whatever.

Now, since we're scouts, we're going to need sashes & patches for some of this shit. Like, "I let the OB cut my guts open to bring you into this world, and all I got was this flippin' patch! ...and a lifetime of responsibility"-Patch.
Or...the "I squeezed you out of my va-jay-jay. Now where's my patch?"-Patch.
Or the..."I potty-trained this beastie baby & only had to throw away 12 pairs of UnderRoos in the process!"-Patch.

:)
Ahhhh...glorious parenthood. You gotta Love it!

So...Wednesday: Sol's for lunch. Gage & I had FAJITAS! Yum!


Pam & Leslie


Aubri & Tera


Sadie-Bug Lady Bug!


So.........that was Wednesday. After they all worked out, we met at Sol's for lunch.

After that...Gage & I had some errands to run!
Which means, I need to back up a little bit. Tuesday afternoon, I took Gage to Party City & let him pick out his own birthday party theme. This is the first year I've let him do that b/c in the past, he just...well, you know...he was little & didn't verbalize much interest.
So, he's chosen to have an "Army Dude" party. How cool? I'm very excited & of course, my creative juices just started flowing. I've got all kinds of ideas!!!
So, at Party City we went ahead & bought a few things but their invitations totally sucked. And, slacker mom that I am, I have not been on top of the situation, and I have not already ordered the invites...so, that's why I was at Party City checking out the stock.
So...then, on Wednesday morning, Gage woke up, ran around the house, and seemed like he was looking for something. He slowed down & kind of hung his head & said to me in the most pitiful little voice, "Nobody's here at my party." Oh, bless his little heart!!! We got the big calendar off the fridge & talked about how the party was 30 days away, and we counted out 30 squares... So, he knows that his party is coming up, it's just not party day yet.

So...now fast forward to after lunch on Wednesday...we ran to Walgreen's to pick up some pics that I had printed for the invitations. We ran to Michael's or MJDesigns or whatever it's called now, to get some paper for the invitations. And then----then we ran to the Pet Store next door on Greenville Avenue. We got FISH! We are the proud new parents of 7 goldfish. It's crazy to me how they all look different. And, a few of them have distinct little fishy personalities coming out. One of the smallest is actually the greediest of the lot.

Wednesday night: Pam came over with her paper cutter to help me make the invitations. She ROCKS! I never would have been able to crank them out so quickly without her. And, Nathan (Tera's husband) has a b-day coming up, so Tera brought Aubri over for Pam to watch. The kids played & we did the invites, and then we looked up & Nathan & Tera were back from their sushi dinner (*yuck!*)...

So...then yesterday was Thursday, 8/28/8.
My friend Ginger had her twins!!!!
Emory & Dean are here.
I live about 10 minutes away from the hospital. I couldn't be 10 minutes away from these perfect little boys & not go see them!!!! When I got there, Gin was still recovering from her c-section, and the boys were in the nursery & they were just a few minutes old. One is 7 pounds 6 or 7 ounces, and the other was 6 pounds 2 ounces.
The "big" one has darker hair...not a whole lot, but some...and it's not real dark. The "small" one has light hair. He's small, but has a perfectly sweet little round face. Anyway....they're all still at the hospital & when I spoke with Gin's dad last night after I'd gotten back home, everyone was still okay. The boys were going to be put on CPAP after I left last night for fluid on their lungs...but I'm sure they can overcome that!
I tell you what...I got to that nursery window & I just teared up.
It's just amazing that I have known Ginger the longest out of all of my friends. And now, we're both moms. I remember spending the night at her house when we were younger & eating Luigi Italian Ices in front of the TV in their living room & watching Nick at Night. I remember her purple & white bedroom & putting on as much make up as humanly possible just because it was fun. I never could have mentally flashed forward to see the future & know that I'd be standing at a nursery window with her parents and husband watching her sons that were only a few minutes old.
I dunno...it just made me so happy & tearful.
Just keep Gin & Emory & Dean in your prayers that they all breathe well & have a speedy & painless recovery! (...or as painless as it can be after you've just had twins...)

.......and the final thing to post about (b/c today's post just hasn't been long enough, has it?)........GAGE'S BIRTHDAY INVITATIONS!

So, it's not the perfect picture of the invitation, and certain parts have been covered up...but here is one of them...

Some are on olive green paper, and some are on tan & brown paper. I printed them at home & I'm pretty proud of them!
:)

On the agenda for today/this weekend: new cell phone. Mine keeps screwing up...it's crap. New digital camera research. I have had my Olympus Camedia (which I've LOVED) since I was pregnant with Gage. It's really starting to crap out, again. I've already sent it in for repair once. I was trying to take pics of Gin's babies yesterday...I was so out-tech'd by the others. Their cameras rocked & mine...well, it didn't, mmmkay. Hubby located our closes Ritz Camera shop & I'm going to go there today or tomorrow & compare a few that I like...what features do I want (I mean, NEED) & what do I want to spend...etc.
Wish me luck!

Tough Lessons in Parenting...

Conversation of the day...

Gage: "Mommy? Why you just throw away my notes?"
[Gage, digging copy paper out of the recycle bin that he recognizes because he's scribbled on them with crayons]
[Mommy, "deer in the headlights" expression on her face, totally feeling busted, although the pick of the litter is hanging front & center on the fridge]
Gage: "You're not a very good mommy."

8.25.8

Well, today is the first day of school for many people around here...
Me, being one of them.
So...remember, way back when...I was going to school for that Master's Education that won't just let you pay cash for? They make you actually go & learn the stuff?
Yeah....that's the one. I'm going back for more.

So...the last semester that I attended classes (Spring '08), I (1) forgot that school started at the beginning of the semester, and totally didn't go to the first class, and (2) ended up taking a leave of absence that semester...you know, after paying the tuition, buying the books & then I only got pennies back on the dollar when I had to leave. Whatever.
I'm not bitter. Not at all.
...okay...just a little.

Well, tonight after work, I will report, once again, to the old SW Complex, complete with it's odd smells & small desks & manual pencil sharpeners bolted to the walls.
I have no spiral notebook.
I have no 3-ring binder.
I have no #2 pencils.
Needless to say, I am ill-prepared to step into my future. I haven't even hit the bookstore yet to see what overpriced--written by the professor so I am padding his bank account--textbooks will be required.

I figure, I'll jack a pen & some copy paper on my way out the door & just make do for this first session. Or....I'll hit the bookstore in my hour & a half block of time between leaving work & the start of class, and I'll load up school supplies in the 11th hour. We'll see....

This morning, I was a few minutes late.
I'm totally blaming the school district for this one.
There is a school right here by my place of employment. All the cars to drop off the kids, the bus lane, the carpool lane, the drop off lane, the moms who aren't in the right lanes w/ their blinkers on, and the crosswalks. Goodness. I noticed this morning that the crossing guards have new hand held stop signs that light up. That's cool, I guess.

While I sat in the school traffic, I watched a mom push her wheelchair-bound special needs child at least 3 blocks to get him to school. I wonder what her morning was like. How long had they been walking? Does she do that twice a day?
I dunno. I just kind of thought, "wow".

And on THAT note, I'm going to stop complaining about school!

Moving right along...
I worked Saturday day shift, Sunday 12 hour shift, and now I'm back at work today. I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm tired. It's more like, I'm tired of this place.

When I got home last night, Hubby was telling me that Gage had been sooooo upset, laying with Daddy and crying about me being at work & working so much lately. "she's not coming home? she's gone forever?" He was very concerned that I was not coming home ever. Bless his little heart! So, of course, even though he was supposed to be in bed, I opened the door to his room, and his little eyes just LIT up. We hugged, and he snuggled, and he just cried telling me how much he missed me & how glad he was that I was home. It was WONDERFUL & pitiful at the same time.

I really probably should not have worked a 12 hour shift the day before I have to stay out late to go to school after work...but, I'll have Tuesday & Wednesday at home with him...so that will be great.

Something in the blogosphere:
there's a little boy named Gage who is starting his first day of school today. He's not my Gage, but obviously my child & this other Gage share the same name. Anyway, Gage Holmes has been battling leukemia, and he is starting kindergarten today. So, say a little prayer for Gage Holmes & the Holmes family on this important day for them!
http://gageupdates.wordpress.com

:)

BabyLand on 20/20

Did any of you catch Friday night's 20/20?

Well I did...
I found the show to be very sad, but interesting. I wish it had been longer. I feel like some subjects were touched on, but not fully discussed or addressed....

For example...it was touched on that many of these babies who die are also born prematurely. But, I don't recall it ever noting that babies born to teenage mothers are at an increased risk of being born prematurely, nor did it ever specifically talk about the rate of teenage pregnancy in that particular city that has the highest infant mortality rate.
Catching the problem at "how to save the babies" is great, but not enough. What efforts are being made to prevent teen pregnancies? What education is being offered at THAT level? Where's the follow up special about what Memphis is doing to prevent teenage pregnancy?
The reduction in the teen pregnancy population would in turn reduce the number of babies born at term or prematurely to teens, and would then in turn impact the infant mortality rate.

Overall, I still think it was an excellent program, if only to open the eyes to the issue & raise awareness of not only the primary issue, but also the contributing factors. I think that the in-depth investigation to the contributing factors is more of what I was looking for & wanting, but would have perhaps been tangential for many viewers, and certainly would not have fit into a one hour slot.
I just wish this were a multi-segmented program that took a much more macro-approach to the subject.
I'm just sayin'.

Friday!

Okay, so it's Friday!
...well, maybe for many of you...
I'm working Th/Fri/Sat. and then 8-8 on Sunday, and then again on Monday.
So for me...it's really like Tuesday.

What's new with us?
Surprisingly, I don't think I've taken a single picture since the weekend. Hmmmm.

Mother in law gave us an aquarium.
So, all we had to add were rocks, water, and fish.
Went to get the rocks & some anti-chlorine drops. Looked at the fish.
Gage was VERY quick to let us know that he does NOT want any fish. He would prefer a "Bunny". He says that if we get him a bunny, then the bunny will help him pick up his toys.
Master manipulator, right there, and he's not even 3!

Which reminds me of another story that I failed to post about Little-Mr-Get-My-Way!
Gage: "I have a dinosaur."
Mommy: "You do?" Looking around, thinking it may be invisible...
Gage: "Mmmmhmmm. He's at the store. We can just go and get him? We can just bring him home?"
Mommy's mental note: oh, let me guess, we still have to pay for him, right?

What else???
Gage has developed an imaginary friend.
His name is Buddy. He's incredibly small b/c Gage picks him up with his fingers. He sometimes hands Buddy to me, and I too can hold Buddy with just my fingers. He often stands in the palm of my hand, or sleeps on my should. According to Gage, he can't get in Gage's bed without someone helping him...he's just that small. Think: Lily Tomlin in The Incredible Shrinking Woman...


So, anyway...Buddy is a new member of our little family. Luckily, he's potty-trained, as far as I know. He goes to bed on time, and he doesn't eat much.

Yesterday, got off work on time. Outta here & home. Gage wanted to spend the night at Memaw's, so we were fine with that. So....we went to dinner at a local little Mexican restaurant, Casa Cavasos. It is certainly a hole-in-the-wall type joint, but we have always really enjoyed the dishes.

After that, headed back home & we were in bed by 7pm!
We watched two movies, and went to bed by 10. It was AWESOME!

Movie Reviews!
:)
The Other Boleyn Girl: Loved it. Didn't want it to end! I wanted to watch more & more. Starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Eric Bana.
See No Evil: Based on a true story of the Moors Murders in England. Horrible movie. Never (1) got to a scene that involved a single murder & (2) never bothered to finish it. Just stupid.
The Secret: stars David Duchovny. It was Weird. It's about soul transferrence after an auto accident, where this woman's soul leaves her body & takes over her daughter's body. So, then she must go & live her daughter's life...but still love her husband (who is living as her dad)...it's just weird, okay?
The Life Before Her Eyes: starring Uma Thurman. LOVED IT. We both thought it was great. Hubby hated the way it kept switching back & forth between two time periods, but by the end of the movie, it all makes sense why it is even shot that way. I just thought it was a great movie.

TTFN: TaTa for now!

Haiku for Activia.

PRODUCT REVIEW!!!!

Activia
Digestive health? Ha!
I want my yesterday back.
Your yogurt blows ass.


Yes.......I thought that perhaps I ate something that didn't agree with me... In a way, I did. It was Activia yogurt. Yeah, I tried it. It contained the word "health" in the ad, so why not buy into it, right?
Well here's why not: because apparently my digestive system didn't need anything meddling with it, thank you very much.

The Weekend.

*******************************************************
So, I had to work on Saturday.
I thought it would be rough following the Friday Night Mimosa-Fest...well, that's what I drank while others drained The Ol' 59er...
Surprisingly--not a rough day at all. I was up by 6 & out the door AFTER loading the dishwasher.
Look at me, I'm WONDER-WOMAN!

Anyway...worked Saturday & got the ball rollin' on training a new employee.
Went home to the most magnificent dinner: Beef Wellington!

That's right...my husband is a wonderful cook & he made me Beef Wellington.
It only took him 3 hours, start to finish.
I'm worth it, right???
Who am I kidding? He enjoys cooking, and enjoys the challenges of complicated dishes.
So, Saturday night I had a lovely dinner! Complete with this red wine & portobello mushroom dipping sauce. Oh!So!Perfect!

So, then Sunday rolls around & we make some quick plans to cook out.
Leslie can only stop by b/c they have a baby shower in BFE (read: the suburbs).
Stephanie & her crew are in Mineral Wells, AND she's down with that nasty tummy virus that has been going around.
Chad & Malayna (will be new to this group....but they were invited!) had tickets to the RuffRiders game in BFE (read: the suburbs).
So, who's in: Me, Hubby, Gage, Pam, Mark, Tera, Nathan, & Aubri.
(and Leslie & Sadie for a few minutes!)

There was of course, lots of swinging...



Bless Aubri's little heart. She was having a rough day. She & Nathan only lasted a little while...or rather, Aubri only lasted a little while & her daddy took her home. Some days are like that.

Leslie & Sadie stopped by after their baby shower, and whoa! She was one HOT MAMA! Next to them, we were all grossly underdressed!


Couldn't you just YUM her up???!!!!


Baby Gage was rockin' the faux-hawk.


There was dinner....ribs with Rendezvous Rib rub, straight from Memphis.
And there were delicious cupcakes!

They were yummy. I was talking about them earlier today at work. They were chocolate cake mix with a can of cherry pie filling baked in there. Yummmm! And the presentation was perfect as well. Way to go, Pam!

There was much backyard fun!


There was swinging, socializing, Baby Gage tossing (as pictured above), baseball, and golf....
And yes, I still feel the need to explain the brown stripe in the grass: I left the slip-n-slide out there for...SEVERAL days (maybe a week...I forget). Hubby was out of town on a business trip, and when he returned, he was pretty close to wringing my neck for that. I fully expected the grass to just perk up with water & a few days worth of sunlight. Um....so far that STILL hasn't happened. Whoops!





The cheering fans in the stands:


Even I played...and I ran the invisible bases like a big ol' goober. Clearly, my kid was not amused. Pam sure was though!


So...the evening ended pretty early.
After that, Gage & Eddie had a pillow fight in the living room. Gage won.
Gage flossed his teeth for about 20 minutes.



He was so proud of himself.
:)

And, we all turned in a little early. That was good.
The last thing I saw was Shawnn Johnson do her floor routine, and then it was lights out!

Rainy today... And I get to stay home on Tuesday & Wednesday. W'hoo!

Friday Night With The Ol' 59er.

Well, on Friday night, we met a new friend...The Ol' 59er.



Why, yes, that IS a Margarita Machine fit for a bar!

We went to Mark & Pam's to meet The Ol' 59er, and enjoy some of the frozen treats. (Okay, who am I kidding? I don't dooooooooo Tequila. I retired that taste some time back. I also don't do red wine unless it's a cooking ingredient. I don't do Gold Schlager; I don't do Everclear. There are just a few flavors I no longer go for, ya know?)

Anywho...back to the Friday events hangin' out in Pam & Mark's backyard...

Pam showed us one of Mark's Paul Frank t-shirts that just CRACKED me UPPPPPP. It is so funny. It looks like he has a kiddo strapped to his chest. They have no kids, and it's totally just a joke... He wore it out in Frisco or some random suburb, and all of these soccer moms kept asking him, "Oh your baby is so cute! where did you get that done?" You know, once they realized it was just a print & not a real baby...


Pam entertained Gage with bubbles...




Mark & Hubby were clearly texting each other prior to the evening's beginning...
"Dude, wear your gray New York tee, and khaki shorts, mmmkay?"

Okay...they weren't really planning to wear similar outfits...it just kind of happened, and it was pretty funny. (well, to all of us anyway...there were Margaritas on board, so maybe that explains some of it...)

And then, Tera got home from work!


And so...the fun continued...


The kids got to stay up until after 10 PM. Yes, a laaaaate night when you're two years old!

We ordered pizza...yummmmmmm.
And Nathan gave the kiddos crazy-rides in the joggin' stroller.


So, a good time was had by all.
:)

Oh.My....Goodness.

Movie Review......

Gone Baby Gone


This movie...
This movie was good....
And, hard to watch.
I cried throughout the movie...just at various times. It was very emotional & thought-provoking for me. It just really makes you ask yourself, "what would I do? what could I live with? how would I decipher the less of two evils?"

Anyway...that's my movie review.

Holy Cow! He's Found Religion!

Gage: "Mommy, who made all the stuff in our house?"
Mommy: "Probably people in China." (as in: MADE IN CHINA)
Gage: "No, Mommy! God made ebberything."

:)

Coppin' His First Feel

Okay, so I know that the title of my post is incredibly sick & twisted...

Tuesday morning was not incredibly hot, so we headed down the street to the park with Tera & Aubri...
Good times.

:)









And THAT's when THIS happened:









Now, on a good note: that's the most helpful I think I've seen him be to another child! He was helping her swing b/c she likes to swing that way.
:)



The storm clouds really made the sky get gloomy, so we started home. Of course, it rained on us. Tera learned pretty quickly that I only run when something like a bullet is chasing me. I think I ran for maybe 120 seconds...but as Tera pointed out, it WAS up a hill. Needless to say, we braved the rain on our way home.
And---Tera got pulled over by a Constable. Yeah---she was walking & pushing a stroller at the time. He told her that she needed to get up on the sidewalk. "Um, hi, do we look like total dumbasses? We know all about the sidewalks. But what you can't see from the driver's side of your air conditioned sedan, is that the sidewalk just ahead is blocked with duct work & other a/c repair crap by the busy handy-men standing within grabbing distance of the sidewalk. Mmmmkay? Buzz off."
Not only that---but the whole neighborhood doesn't even HAVE sidewalks. Only right there by the park... whatever.

Anyhoooooooo...that was my Tuesday morning. How'd ya like that?

What a Difference A Year Makes...

...or not.
We're still doin' the same ol' goofy stuff.

August 2007:


Gage, your Mommy won't always be this cool. Soak it up now, Buddy.
Some day, you'll go off to school...you'll meet new friends...at some point you will want me to drop you off down the block instead of right there in front of the school/party/dance/etc. Some day you'll drive a car & you'll head off to some girl's house with a bouquet of flowers. You'll think she's prettier than me, and you'll want to spend your time with your little friends instead of me.

But for now, this is all that matters!
August 2008:


(And yes, Mario, I'm totally rockin' the Goonies tee-shirt!)

It's SHOWTIME!

So, on Sunday afternoon, when Gage asked us to attend his "show" in his room, we just couldn't resist.

He proudly stood on top of a little purple stool, and belted out a tune about washing your hands when they get sticky. "when they're kind of sticky, when they're kind of sticky, you've got to wash your hands, with soap & water..." Yes, rinse & repeat.

He used the flashlight as his microphone. It was soooooo cute!





Oh, and there was break-dancing too.





Donny Osmond, eat your heart out.